Rape trial judge instructs jury relating to Rory Best's attendance
The judge presiding over the trial in which Ulster and Ireland rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding stand accused of rape has addressed the jury in relation to the attendance in court of Irish captain Rory Best.
Best's attendance at the trial was the source of some controversy in Ireland, with a campaign being waged online against the hooker for his appearance at Laganside Crown Court last week.
The Journal.ie report that during the trial this afternoon, Judge Patricia Smyth addressed the 12 person jury in relation to the media coverage of Best's attendance.
“You may have been aware of press coverage or coverage of some nature about the appearance at this trial of Mr Rory Best, who I understand is the captain of the Ireland Rugby team.
“I want to make it absolutely clear to you, and I want to make it clear to the public, the only reason Mr Rory Best was in this court last week was because he was directed to be here by senior counsel.
“That’s the reason why he was here, and as a jury you should know that.”
Best broke his silence at the post-France press conference and explained exactly why he was at the trial.
“We sign out on Tuesday night, Wednesday is our day off, so technically we don’t need permission to do stuff on our own time.
“The reason I was there, it’s on the record I’ve been called as a character witness. I was advised it was important to attend, so I got both sides of the story.
“Because it’s an ongoing legal matter, I will make no further comment than that.”
The online 'outrage' saw hundreds of social media posts claim they would not be watching Ireland's match against France as a result of the attendance of the Irish captain at the trial.
The following tweets give a flavour of the #notmycaptain campaign.
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Brett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
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